Good Morning, Darlings!
Our cupcapron winner is Jes from The Cupcake Punk! Woo Hoo!!
Jes, I am emailing you right now to get your details so I can send you your apron!
Congratulations!!
xoxo, Patti
Hospitalityaholic
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We Have A Winner!
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009Christmas Party 2009
Monday, December 14th, 2009Good Morning, Darlings!
Thank you for allowing me to rest and recuperate yesterday after our big night.
Party day started off early with me driving the dogs to camp to stay until Monday. They were happy and I was happy.
Once I was back at home the prep began in earnest. Eric swept and mopped the bathrooms while I dusted. John was over at noon and he and Eric put up the tents in the backyard. Lights were attached at the top for extra illumination. Becky and Tim brought by their standing heater and Jeff came by to make sure it was in working order. Oops! Looks like we realized that we had the wrong heater too late and it wasn’t able to be traded out. But no matter, we had plenty of room on the front porch for outside smokers.
Teague dropped off extra serving pieces, their huge standing cooler for beer on the porch and an extra tablecloth for concealing the front of the table. The kitchen table was moved to make space for Farzana, who would be our Kitchen Manager for the evening. The bar was emptied and moved to make a great bar space for Wallace. Tables were set up behind the bar to make room for wine, ice, liquor and mixers.
The phone rang a zillion times with calls and texts. Some were sending regrets, others to tell me the name of their guest had changed (well, their name hadn’t changed, she just changed her date….).
The weather – very cold and drizzly. Mood – upbeat and sunny.
I finally hit the showers at 6 p.m. – with a 7 p.m. party call. I was really cutting it close.
6:30pm – Farzana and Wallace arrive. I am still blow drying my hair.
Wallace, The Heart of Our Party
I can’t begin to tell you how fabulous Wallace was. He anchored this soiree. He answered the door, he greeted guests with glasses of champagne (because one hostess was busy getting false eyelashes applied by Art Director Tracy), he put everyone at ease and he was an angel to remember everything I forgot to pick up on the list he sent me (stirrers, etc….). When I suggested Wallace take a break mid-evening so I could tend bar, no one ordered anything because they wanted Wallace to make them a drink. This is the mark of a GREAT bartender and I was delighted! As long as Wallace is willing, he will be tending bar at every party we give from now on.
And Kitchen Manager Farzana was nothing short of spectacular. With some direction from Eric (still drying hair and putting on false eyelashes was I), she took over and kept everything fresh, hot and looking gorgeous. And she was gorgeous, too. And sweet. I hit the jackpot with Wallace and Farzana and the party would not have been nearly the success without them.
Table As It Was Being Laden With Food...
Party Day!!
Saturday, December 12th, 2009Good Morning, Darlings!
Well, it’s finally here! It’s party day and we are supposed to get sleet today – uh oh!
The good news is: If everyone shows up, the party will be awesome.
The good news is: If no one shows up, we have a ton of great food and a case of champagne.
So – win win!
Yesterday found me drizzling potato chips with chocolate and making mounds of chicken salad, both dilled and curried. It took over 2 hours to make the chicken salad. But it will be tasty on its tiny rolls.
Last night Eric, Crystal and I worked on transforming the dining room. It is very, very pretty. But, sorry, no photos here until tomorrow. I can’t ruin all the surprises!
In the afternoon, a van drove up to the house with the most beautiful flower arrangement. They were from our bff, Vickie, who could not be here this time. This is tough for me because she has been here for every huge party we have given. So we took her gorgeous flowers and set them right in the middle of the table so at least in spirit she will be the guest of honor.
Clint called last night from his balcony in St. Thomas to say he wished he could be with us. Heck, I was wishing I could be in St. Thomas!
The dogs have been dropped off at camp. John and Danny will be here at noon to help set up. Whatever would I do without those two? They are the greatest friends any girl could ask for.
Art Director Tracy is feeling much better and went to party of her own last night. Crystal and I kept her company while she got ready and just enjoyed sitting in her huge closet with a glass of pinot noir. Nice!
Eric finally folded last night and we cracked open a bottle of bubbly. It was a nice evening before the party tonight.
But there is much to do, my darlings, so I must bid you adieu.
Until tomorrow and the party wrap up!
xoxo, Patti
Party Week – Day Five
Friday, December 11th, 2009Good Morning, Darlings!
Thursday was a flurry of activity. Lisa and I set out early for the grocery store and restaurant supply store for all the food and serviceware. After the grocery store, I was well under budget, but then I got to the restaurant supply store – a wonderful emporium (to the trade only) of mondo boxes of hors d’ouevres, pretty plastic plates and champagne glasses. Ahem….needless to say, I lost my mind in there and went $100 over budget. But it will make everything look so lovely! The grocery store was flat out of puff pasty, so we scrapped the idea of making olive straws and replaced them with a variety box of fancy hors d’ouevres that looked much better than just about anything else I could produce.
Wallet emptied, we returned home for the initial cooking. Lisa poached chicken breasts for the dilled chicken salad sliders while I fried umpteen batches of farfalle (bowtie pasta) that had been previously boiled by Lisa. It turned out well after we mastered the frying time. There are now three huge ziploc bags of crunchy farfalle in my pantry. One appetizer done, three more to conquer.
And the evening brought a delightful surprise – yes, Virginia, there is a Taruan! Yes, our handsome Space Planner was back from the Bahamas and ready to tell me where to put everything (for the party, of course!) It will all be fabulous, but the party is tomorrow and this is what my house looks like.
Tablescape Yet To Be Finished
Beau Coup Cokes Underneath All These Mixers
Party Week – Day Four
Thursday, December 10th, 2009Good Morning, Darlings!
Wednesday was a doozy, if I do say so myself.
My sweet Chioke, Taruan’s significant other, told me Taruan has been called to the Bahamas to do some work on the Atlantis. Now, I know Taruan would much rather be here in Atlanta with me, deciding where the bar should go as opposed to being on an island paradise, but work is work. He will return soon and then I will know where to put everything for the party.
Art Director Tracy is feeling much better so today we set out to buy some glitter with which to coat branches and pick up her dress from the tailor. Michaels had all the Martha Stewart glitter we could ever need and a visit to Hancock Fabrics yielded some lovely ice blue netting for the table. After those errands, we visited Tracy’s tailor to pick up her dress. Uh oh….this was not what she had asked for. Her bustier had been taken in where she didn’t want it taken in and the skirt was no where near what she had asked for. But I know a swell tailor named Alfredo in Sandy Springs and we ended up taking a drive to see him and ask his opinion. He explained that the way the skirt was cut on the bias made it impossible to turn said skirt from an a-line to a mermaid skirt. It still looks gorgeous on her and she was happy.
Starting With A Pile of Stuff
Party Week – Day Three
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009Good Morning, Darlings!
Tuesday brought downpours and so I stayed in and managed some household minutae. I wrote thank you notes, did the laundry, stripped the guest bed and washed the linens since Holly is staying the night with us on Saturday after the party (she is the most delightful houseguest!) I half-heartedly cleaned the bathroom and straightened up.
I also pulled out all the serving trays for the party and placed the appropriate plates into the two three-tiered servers.
I’m not sure if I mentioned this, but on top of everything else Crystal has done for the party, she made me two of the most scrumptious rosemary wreaths. They smell so heavenly! My first thought was to hang them in the kitchen separately, but then got inspired to tie them together and hang them from the mirror over the mantel. Take a look – I love it!
Mantel Decorations Done
Rosemary Wreaths!
Party Week – Day Two
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009Good Morning, Darlings.
Hmmmm. You know things cannot go smoothly all the time. Yesterday found my little Art Director, Tracy, sick in bed. Without Tracy I would be decorating with construction paper chains and cotton ball snowmen. I hopped over to Tin Drum and picked her up some pho with the directions to stay in bed until she’s feeling better or Wednesday – whichever comes first. Here’s hoping she will be 100% soon. Then I came home, let the dogs out and Karen jumped the fence to freedom. Took about 20 minutes to get her to return. Little minx.
More Chaos After The Fold
Your Anatomy Course Starts Here
Monday, December 7th, 2009Good Morning, Darlings,
Saturday night is our black tie Christmas party for 75+ guests. This week I will share all the highlights and headaches as they happen each day leading up to the event.
But first, something more fun than that. Last night, Morgan, the niece of my bff, Vickie, and her friend Joe stopped by for dinner on their way from Tennessee to Florida. It was so nice to have them here, along with Morgan’s dog Headphones (yes, that’s his name). I made mac and cheese with tomatoes & bacon, homemade bread, salad and hazelnut brownies (same brownie recipe from yesterday, but sub out the peppermint for hazelnut extract). It was a quick visit as they had to get back on the road to get home. After packing them up with the leftovers, I cleaned the kitchen and got a great night’s sleep in anticipation of this week.
Morgan, Headphones and Joe
SEC and Trimming The Tree
Sunday, December 6th, 2009Good Morning, Darlings!
As you know, I was most excited about watching the Gators vs. Alabama play the SEC Championship last night. Well, my Gators lost, but the food was fun!
Midafternoon, I heard a song on the radio that reminded me of Miss Diane – Modern Love by David Bowie. Miss Diane says that every time she’s at our house it comes on the radio. Well, I was in the kitchen making peppermint brownies when that very song came on so I had to call her. She asked me how many people were coming over to watch the game. Uh….nobody but Eric and me, sitting on the couch, hollering at the television. Of course I asked her to join us.
Peppermint Brownies - Recipe To Follow
I had gotten out the andouille sausage, the cheesy poofs, the salt and pepper chips, the plain chips, onion dip and some moon pies. There was wine and beer and cokes to drink. I had also baked the aforementioned peppermint brownies and had put some bread dough out to rise to take to Crystal and Teague’s house after the game so we could help trim their Christmas tree and indulge in some of Crystal’s grandmother’s Beef Vegetable Soup. Yum, soup!
It was a junk food afternoon at our house. Perfect for game day. Take a look at my bowl of chips on the left as put together by Miss Diane when asked what type of chip I would like. “Yes” was my reply. That’s a lot of chips!
Food Groups For Game Day: Chips, Moon Pies, Wine, Dip
Varasano’s Pizza
Saturday, December 5th, 2009Happy Saturday, Darlings!
As today is the SEC Championship Game between my beloved Florida Gators and Alabama, I am feeling a bit antsy. I am ready for the game to start and the andouille sausage to go on the grill. So forgive me if I seem a bit scattered.
Miss Tami from Running With Tweezers and I perched ourselves at the bar at Varasano’s Pizza yesterday for some cocktail testing. Now, since Tami is blogging about this, I will not steal her thunder and I look forward to reading about all her suggestions. But we did have some lovely beverages, these yellow beauties being the first.
Tami's Charming Friend, Tony